Extended time alone

My wife and I just got our first Maltese - and love him - what a great breed! The problem is, we are now in a situation where we need to leave the nine month old puppy by himself for 8 hours. He is housebroken to go outside (not paper) when we are there, but he doesn't seem to be able to hold it for more than 6 hours during the day - he does sleep through the night though, most of the time. He is locked in the kitchen when we are gone - I didn't think the cage would be wise for such a long time. Will he eventually develop the bladder control to hold it for 8 hours?
Kris Z.

• Yes, as he gets older he should be able to control his bladder for longer. While I don't like to push it, my "kids" after reaching adulthood could go for 10 hours if necessary. But it was rare and only when I got stuck at work. So have faith, as he gets older, he should be able to increase his control.
  Rebecca

• I was home with Lucy every day until she was about 9 months old, so she was pretty well potty trained. The first day I had to go to work outside the home, I put a gate up in the kitchen. She excaped, and I found her in my closet asleep when I got home, having done nothing in the house. So I decided to trust her. I usually try to get home around lunch time to walk her, but she has been left for as long as 10 hr without using the "indoor" facilites.

  AS I understand it (and certainly it is true for Lucy) Maltese, in general, are very fastidious about this. I think once your dog is a little older and his bladder more developed you won't find it to be a problem. When I was potty training Lucy, I thought she "did it" for the treats, but we've long since passed by those except for an occasional one, and she has yet to have an accident in the house. However, I do remember being told when I bought her that for quite some time 4 hr would be about the limit for holding onto her kidneys. Give him some time. I'm sure he'll do fine and if dogs are like humans, it takes longer for boys!
  Cathy Brown